Chapter 46

Hello Everyone! Happy belated Mother's Day, I guess? I didn't actually intend to have this chapter have anything to do with Mother's day, but final exams and papers forced me to push the upload date to later than I would have liked, and since I was including Kya into the mix, I thought it might be good to get other moms talking to their kids in this crazy AU of mine.

This is also a long chapter, hopefully to make up for the delay.

Happy reading!

Chapter 46, A Mother's Love

Lu Ten

The stinging tension left his shoulders almost instantly as he excused himself from the library and made his hasty retreat. Both Yue and Song didn't question his half-mumbled excuse, though Song did raise a skeptical eyebrow at him before turning back to the object of her ire, Yue.

Still, he rolled his shoulders gingerly, his muscles were tight and sore from that 2-hour meeting. Of all the meetings that Lu Ten had planned for the 5 days leading up to his coronation as Fire Lord, he hoped the worst was over with. He wondered if Zuko would call him a coward if it ever got out that he'd retreated from the women like a recruit on the battlefield. Still, he was all too glad to leave the bickering women behind like they were a bad dream.

For the better part of that last hour, he'd tried to illustrate his plans for moving forward—particularly where they were concerned. He'd tried to discuss how Song and Yue would share duties and responsibilities around the castle and the country. He'd bent to Song's accusations and irritation and changed his original plans for her sake, deciding that Song would wield more power than Yue. This was due in part to her admittedly higher status and politically savvy mind, but he gave her the right to make governmental decisions in his absence—which pleased her immensely—but when he looked at Yue's bitter expression, with her bright blue eyes wide with fury, her nose crinkled and white eyebrows furrowed, he'd decided that to make things fair, any power that they wanted to use (except in the case of emergencies) had to be done by consensus.

He would have wives that worked together or nothing else.

He also promptly regretted this decision almost as soon as the words left his mouth.

Oh, how they ranted and raged at him, the two women absolutely refusing to meet on any form of common ground. Song accused Yue of being a gold-digger, only interested in money and status. Yue said that if she embodied all those things, then Song must be her twin, because all Song really cared about was being Fire Lady.

The level of vitriol in the room increased tenfold after that. Yue's voice grew louder and higher pitched as she incessantly both defended herself and attacked Song in the same breath, while Song was ever her opposite, volume growing increasingly low, but her barbs and insults were sharp and seemed to rival Yue's in spite and harshness.

He couldn't control them. He couldn't get them to stop. By the time he left, he had to wonder if they'd forgotten he was in the room at all.

Besides, in his opinion, their initial accusations were...accurate...or they seemed to be at least.

Though Yue professed to love him, Lu Ten had to wonder if she only truly loved the idea of him instead. Would she have traveled all this way to find him if he were a mere merchant, or lowly farmer? Would she have been half as interested?

No, probably not.

But the fact remained that he wasn't a farmer, and he wasn't a merchant. He was Fire Lord—or he would officially be by week's end. He had access to more wealth and power that most men could ever dream of. A single word from him, and Fire Nation women (maybe men as well), would trip over themselves and each other to land in his bed.

He thought about his wild days before this all began, vaguely remembering the half-forgotten feel of soft curves that belonged to whatever random beauty he'd absently lay himself beside for the night. He shook his head at how irresponsible he'd been. If only he'd known.

His life was easier back then. It could be so easy to fall back into old habits. Dealing with brothels and whores was always easier than dealing with wives.

Then again, his habits are what prompted his mother to start the Hana Matsuri in the first place. It's the reason he was about to be a father at 23. While he accepted that he initiated their...meeting, and part of the blame lay with him, the fault and disgrace was mostly Yue's to bear.

It wasn't his fault. She was just as interested as he was.

Song though, was different from any girl he'd ever slept with. She was incredibly intelligent, elegant, spoke several Earth Kingdom dialects, and as the Earth King's sister, she was the most eligible and praised girl in the Earth Kingdom. She wasn't afraid of his Uncle, like Yue was, and could insult someone just as easily as praise them. By all accounts, Song should be the perfect Fire Lady for him.

When he'd watched her during his mother's speech yesterday…she…she seemed unbothered by the havoc his mother was threatening to unleash, almost like she'd been expecting it. Then again, Song had kept his mother company during her grieving period—something that he, the dutiful son, had failed to do. She spoke to his Uncle easily, only letting him get under her skin once, but still maintaining that calm façade. But she'd also spoken cruelly to Katara….one of her friends. His doubts about her clawed at his chest whenever he thought about how quickly they'd come together.

Lu Ten couldn't tell if his mother had handpicked her, or she'd been chosen on her own merit. Everything that had happened with his father, all the manipulations and machinations had caused him to wonder if everything in his life wasn't just orchestrated behind the scenes.

The days they'd interacted over the past two and a half months flashed through his mind. Him finding her just outside the kitchen an hour into the challenge, positioned at the exact point that he had to pass train.

Why was Song out there the day they met? The day of Tiang's first attempt on his father's life.

She couldn't have finished cooking only an hour in. Did his mother—?

No.

Song was perfect for him. she was his match in every way. His mother wouldn't do that, she wouldn't take away his freedom of choice like that

But the smug grin of the Yu Yan Archers had spoken otherwise. His mother's threats against everyone, including her own flesh and blood. She had done it while sitting on his throne.

What rightfully belonged to me.

His heart dropped into his stomach.

She would.

Katara

"Do I look okay?"

She asked him as they walked briskly to Zuko's mother's room, Gu Zhi hot on their heels. Her new residence in Zuko's grandmother's old room made the trip wonderfully short. Instead of travelling down 3 floors in the Concubine's Quarters and across the garden through another set of hallways and up more steps, it was only a short walk down the hall.

But she was nervous. What would her mother think of what she'd done? The person she'd become. She hadn't told her mother everything about her time here, most of her letters told the good things, never the bad. She didn't want to worry them, didn't want them to feel like Katara had made a mistake in coming here. In the beginning, it was to protect her foolhardy pride, but later…later it was for another reason.

She looked at Zuko, dark hair pulled into a bun held in place by twine of komodo rhino leather, forgoing the golden clasp that usually held it in place. He said he wanted to be simple flashy. She'd agreed and dressed in the same thing she wore when she'd left the north pole. It was tighter on her, the soft, thicker material had become snug around her hips and chest. She'd lost some muscle definition as well; she hadn't trained in weeks. If Pakku could see her now… the thought filled, her with dread. What if he was here too?

"What do you mean, 'Do you look okay?'" He asked from next to her, golden eyes growing brightly in the late summer morning. "Of course, you look okay, you always do."

"Do you think she'll recognize me?" She probed further, a nervous twitch in her brows.

She was unable to stop the nervous flutters from entering her chest. It was illogical, this her mother, not some stranger—but life at the Water Tribe had felt like it was a different time, like she was a different person. She was stronger now, able to read people and their intentions better, able to hold her own against some of the most intimidating people that she'd ever met. She'd been through so much—things that would have broken another person—a weaker person.

Katara wasn't the little girl that left the South Pole anymore.

His fingers lightly threaded through hers with the barest hint of a press against her palm, a warm tingle traveled up her arm and down her spine—like it always did when he touched her. He chuckled softly at her worry, his voice soft and soothing "Katara you've been gone 3 months. Not 3 years."

She let out a short, breathy laugh. "Has it only been—? Of course, it has. It just seems longer."

He nodded, agreeing with her. "It does."

Though the anxiety had left somewhat, the fear causing the pounding of her chest and the racing of her pulse wouldn't go away—not even when Gu Zhi knocked on the door.

Yun Xi

She stared into the angry eyes of her son—Iroh's eyes—and couldn't imagine how those beautiful shining orbs had gone from looking at her with love and devotion to this—bitter, full of hatred and revulsion. He'd come to her, barging into her room—her and Iroh's once shared room—and started yelling at her. After he'd placed her under house arrest! How dare he order her? How could her son—her beautiful baby boy—yell at her like this? Such things would never have happened if not for Zuko—if not for Katara—if not for Yue.

But he was very silent now. He had been for the longest time, once she'd given it to him. He'd come wanting to know about Song, and the nature of their true relationship—Song didn't know the extent of their relationship either, but Yun Xi was fairly certain she'd begun to suspect—the girl was no fool. But Lu Ten? Lu Ten was never supposed to know.

And now he did.

Once she'd given him the betrothal contract, he just stared at her, like she'd expected her to justify her actions. As if she ever would—

I'm Fire Lady. I explain myself to no one.

"Read it." She ordered, watching as his clenched fist twitched on the table, coming up to his mouth as he let out a heavy sigh. With a quick look in her eyes, as though he were searching for something—he began to read.

The moments were agonizing as he did—he never commented, never said anything, never made any hint that what was dictated in that document affected him in any way. It was simple, and though the pages had yellowed slightly from their years in storage, it was easy to make out the stamped wax seals imprinted on the bottom of the page. Green and white, red and gold.

Finally, it was over, and Lu Ten finally lifted his eyes to meet hers. "Is it true?" He asked quietly, the words were barely audible through the hand that covered his mouth.

"I'm not sure what you mean." She said quietly—His eyes snapped up to meet hers as his dark brows furrowed in disbelief.

He's angry. Lu Ten would never get angry at me.

He held the contract up in blur of motion, fingers crinkling the delicate rice paper. He struck it once, just above the bottom of the page where the two seals were stamped neatly next to one another. "That's Song's father's name, and your name as well as mine—." He snapped, a hand coming away from his mouth to point furiously to each name. "—but I never signed this!"

She laughed plainly. Could her son be this oblivious? "Of course you didn't. You were 14 years old. I signed it for you."

"How could you?" He glared at her, venom coloring his tone.

She tried to keep her expression impassive, but her eyes regarded her son with a subdued sort of smugness and superiority. The kind that always made him feel like a child—as it should—she was his mother. "Because I'm your mother. When your grandfather grew ill, I decided that plans should be made. So, I contacted the former Earth King."

Lu Ten scoffed in disbelief, slamming the parchment down onto the mahogany table. "It would be another six years before Grandfather passed away!"

She turned her voice soft, soothing, trying to placate her irate son. "It wasn't binding until he passed away—when it became clear that your grandfather wouldn't survive the year, those plans were solidified."

Lu Ten's eyes widened in what appeared to be barely contained outrage. Why is he being so dramatic? "Song was a child! A girl of ten! How could you betroth me to a girl of ten without even saying anything?!" He continued spitefully, glaring at her from across the table "I assume she wasn't given a choice in the matter?"

Now it was her turn to be accusatory. "I thought you would be happy! For 9 years, Princess Song was taught how to please you, she was taught the ways of court life, of politics and policy, and how to run a country effectively. She was taught how to be a good wife. Your wife."

She should be grateful she received that much, as the daughter of a second Queen.

"Did you not think I was allowed some choice? That she was allowed some choice? How could father have gone along with this?

"Your father didn't know. I never told him."

Iroh would have hated me if he ever found out—he would have hated that I'd betrayed his trust. Or he would have been disappointed—which was always worse. He would have looked at me—like Lu Ten is looking at me now.

"What?" Lu Ten stared at her dumbly, mouth open.

"He was the Fire Nation's ambassador at the time. He wasn't scheduled to return until the end of the year, I didn't have time to tell him." Later, I just didn't want to. I couldn't bear the look on his face. "While he led a diplomatic mission to see King Bumi in Omashu, I arrived in Ba Sing Se to meet with Song's Father, the Earth King."

"You went behind his back!" Lu Ten was so outraged, so…hurt.

Was I wrong, in deceiving him? In deceiving everyone?

No.

"He never would have agreed with me in the first place!" Her voice rose an octave, becoming almost shrill. Lu Ten winced. "I wanted to—but by the time he returned—it was too late then. And I'd forgotten about it, but then after your grandfather died—and you started visiting all of those brothels, I just knew you were going to bring me home a bastard."

"I wasn't going to—," He said defensively before pausing, catching his words.

But you did You brought home that girl and my first grandchild—my heir—is going to be illegitimate.

Even so, she plowed on like he hadn't said anything.

"And by then—the first signs of unrest had occurred. It was simple at first, discontent in the streets, malicious words down at the docks—some traitorous murmuring from the nobility—nothing we couldn't handle. But then when Iroh got sick—when Tiang poisoned him for the first time—I convinced Ursa to begin the Hana Matsuri. She'd wanted to, after Mai broke Zuko's heart, but still."

"You didn't say anything—! You didn't tell me!" He stammered, hurt and pain all over his face.

"What could I have said? What was I supposed to say—'Lu Ten your father nearly died last night"?

"Yes! I could have handled it."

"No. I handled it. Like I always do. You need those older and wiser to make the decisions you didn't know you needed to make."

"Mother—," He started to say, but she cut him off.

"Iroh, listen to me!" She shouted, before the sharp gasp left her lips, and Lu Ten looked shocked too and she tried to ignore the burning in her chest and in her throat, the stinging tears that threatened to undo her. She swallowed, tried to take a breath before beginning again, but the words couldn't come.

I called him—

Lu Ten, still in shock, cleared his throat. His voice was stable, though his eyes were wet. "Mother, you made a mistake."

Finally. She could get angry—anger was an easy emotion to deal with—, "No Lu Ten, you have made the mistake with your water tribe whore."

"Don't call her that—,"

"Why not? It is the truth. She spread her legs as soon as she saw you—"

"As did the others I was allowed to see—I offered no resistance to Yue."

"Yes," his mother nodded, seemingly agreeing with a point that Lu didn't know he'd made. She continued speaking, "Your father and I let you have too much freedom. We thought it was fine because you were careful, and no one got attached, and you were careful enough to use protection—until this time," she spat finally.

Lu Ten laughed sourly. "I thought you'd be happy. You'll have an heir on the way."

"An heir that Song will raise. That Song, your true wife, will legitimize. Yue will never make it. She'll get herself killed one way or another."

"Are you volunteering for the task?" He asked acerbically, rolling his eyes.

"Don't take that tone of voice with me, Lu Ten." She snapped.

"She'll be fine. With Katara's help—"

Did Lu Ten not see how wrong it was to ask Katara, only 16, to protect her 19-year-old, pregnant, naïvely stupid cousin.

"Yes, of course, Katara." She spat the young girl's name.

"What do you have against her? Father liked her. And in the beginning, you did too. Zuko hadn't smiled for 3 years before he met her—I've never seen him so happy. She saved father's life—more than once!"

And look where she got him in the end. Dead.

She leaned forward, eyes wide, trying to impress upon her son the seriousness of the situation. "I meant what I said yesterday. If she marries Zuko, they will take your throne."

"You don't mean that." Her dear sweet son shook his head.

She reclined on her chair, almost wanting to laugh at his dumbfounded face. "Call it a mother's intuition."

Lu Ten stood sharply, forcing her to crane her neck to look up at him. But she wouldn't stand with him. She wouldn'tmeet her son on an even level.

"Zuko is the only one I can trust!" He yelled at her, and now it was her turn to be shocked as she stared up at him. "Yes, that includes you. He's the only one that's been on my side since the very beginning. He's not afraid to tell me the truth when I mess up and how I can fix it. He also never went behind my back—Don't look so surprised mother, you did it with the arranged marriage—you did it with concealing the seriousness of father's illness, and you did it with the mercenaries."

That hurt. That hurt a lot. For the briefest moment, she wondered if this was how Tiang felt when Azula turned on her. But Yun Xi too, knew how to hurt and wound, to disarm her son's hatred of her, and love for his cousin, bringing him back into her waiting arms.

"You want me to tell the truth?" She asked calmly, ignoring the pain she felt inside.

"Yes." He sighed, face looking weary, he exhaled deeply, the visible tension leaving his. "Please. That's all I want."

"Fine." She said, smiling sweetly at him, though her face belied the smug satisfaction she felt. The anger in Lu Ten's cheeks lessened, tight face softening to the sound of her voice. There was a stab of something in her chest as she realized what she was going to do to her child—Still, she struck.

"Your father wanted Zuko to be his heir."

There was silence.

"...What?" He said, almost as if he hadn't heard her.

If I can convince him, feed into his doubts…he will trust me again.

"I wrote his will myself, and he moved Zuko up in the line of succession."

She didn't feel bad. Well, maybe a little. But it would be worth it. One day, when Lu Ten had a legitimate child of his own, he would know and understand what she was saying, applaud her decision. Technically she was telling the truth—technically Iroh had only wanted Zuko moved up to be Lu Ten's heir, skipping Ozai in the line of succession.

"You're lying," He said, but it was desperate, searching, seeking for approval. "Father believed in me."

"He did," She admitted, feeling awful about the words she was going to say next. "–but he believed in Zuko more."

Now that, was a lie. As far as she knew, Iroh viewed both boys equally as his sons, and loved them just the same. But he should have loved Lu Ten more. Besides, she was too far gone to take anything back now.

"I want to see it." He said suddenly, after a beat, his eyes flashing.

"See w-what?" She stammered, caught off guard.

"Father's will."

"You don't believe me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not that—I just want to see it for myself—to see if he really felt that way about me."

She shook her head. "Lu Ten I love you. Yes, I might have omitted things in the past but I'm being truthful to you now. Everything I do is to protect you, and you don't need to see the truth of your father's feelings. Your father wanted to give your throne to Zuko, and I knew how much this would hurt you—so I burned it."

I didn't burn it. I'm lying to my only child—what have I done?

"I...I see." He said dejectedly, shoulders slumping.

She had achieved her goals, but at what price?

Kya

"I didn't think we'd get here in time—thankfully Pakku and a few others offered to help us sail." She said, appreciatively thinking of her grumpy father-in-law, who, although he complained about it, never denied a request to help his family. "Honestly Ursa, when you wrote me that letter, telling me that Katara and Zuko were happily engaged to one another I didn't believe it. I must admit I'm still skeptical."

She was across from Ursa, seated on a plush cushion that was finer than anything she'd ever known. They ate breakfast together calmly, as Kya described the rushed week and a half journey to the Fire Nation, with favorable monsoon winds pushing them faster and faster, only to be delayed by a sudden storm a few leagues from the coast. Though the Water tribe possessed the best navy in the entire world, though they'd had some help along the way, it was still difficult. Pakku himself was still asleep on the ship, along with the rest of the crew and other waterbenders. When she'd tried to rouse him from his slumber, he said he'd rather sleep with the roll of the ocean than in a hot, dry Fire Nation bed.

And he'd glared at any waterbender that didn't agree. The rest of the crew she'd arranged to stay at inns within the capital.

"I don't see why," Her friend said teasingly, and though Ursa laughed along with Kya's light chuckle, Kya noticed that the woman seemed lighter, happier, though Ursa's golden eyes held a weariness unlike anything she'd ever seen. What troubled her friend so? "If I remember, weren't you and Hakoda engaged after a relatively short engagement period? 3 months, if I remember? And you were 15 at the time of the wedding?"

Smiling softly, Kya's hand automatically went to her neck where a new, larger necklace sat, the bright white stone resting comfortably against the hollow of her throat. Hakoda had carved it the day after Katara had left, saying that he didn't want a day to go by where she thought he didn't love her. It was more ornate now, there were jeweled sapphires embedded in the shell, and the cloth binding everything together was made of expensive Earth Kingdom silk, not seal leather as had been done before. They had more wealth now, they were rulers, not teenagers that didn't know what they were doing—she should be happy—but even so she almost missed the small one that she'd given to Katara.

But her circumstances were different. She'd needed to marry early. Her father was dying, and she needed to carry on the line. But Katara didn't have to marry. She didn't have to come to the Fire Nation, no matter how much the thought of a wedding made Kya happy.

"Hakoda and I had known each other all of our lives. Katara and Zuko, barely a few months." Kya eyed Ursa warily. "But now you say that they've gone from screaming at each other to—marriage? Though technically it was just Katara that was screaming." She added the last part wryly, as she expected Ursa to laugh.

But she didn't.

Here, Ursa paused, hesitantly, taking another sip of tea, seeming to take a minute and choose her words carefully. Kya instantly tensed, feeling that something was wrong. Finally, after what seemed like a hundred breaths, Ursa spoke.

"There are things that you can endure as a couple that…that make a bond almost unbreakable."

Kya nodded slowly. She knew this phrase well. She too, had endured much with her husband.

"And where do our children fit into this?" She asked suspiciously, a nervousness fluttering in her stomach. "What have they endured?"

Ursa looked down at her tea for a moment, unable to meet Kya's gaze. Still looking down, she asked dimly. "Do you really want to know?"

That nervousness spread to her entire body, she was shaking, unsure. Did she really want to know? Katara hadn't told her much of anything that had happened over the last few weeks. She'd written that Song was to marry Lu Ten, and that Fire Lord Iroh had gotten violently ill at the announcement banquet, but that she was able to clear it up. And that was it. Nothing more. Though she'd known that Katara was all right, because Ursa would update Kya on their children's budding relationship. Still, she would have liked to have heard it from Katara, herself.

"Yes."

And Ursa started to speak.

As she told Kya everything that Katara had done over the past few weeks, Kya remained silent, never speaking, only absorbing the information given to her. She was torn over feeling hurt that Katara had not shared this with her mother, fuming that someone had dared to do this to her daughter. She wrestled with the feeling of usefulness at knowing that while Kya thought that everything was fine, her child had been arrested, been put through a farce of a trial—after torture no less, rendered unconscious, and threatened to within an inch of her life—multiple times.

What kind of a mother was she if she couldn't protect her own child from harm? Kya had sent her daughter into a viper's nest and yet…Ursa claimed that Katara was happy?

She set the porcelain cup down as gracefully as she could manage—but it rattled when she did so—her hands were shaking slightly, causing the light-colored tea to slosh dangerously close to the edge of the porcelain cup. An unsteady exhale left from between her pursed lips and her famously beautiful cerulean eyes were filled with unshed tears as she turned from the other woman in red, blinking them away hotly.

With a furrowed brow, her friend reached across the mahogany table to touch Cheiftess Kya's wrist lightly, jerking her from her thoughts.

"Oh dear." There was true sorrow and pain Ursa's golden eyes. "I've upset you."

"I'm not upset—well, no I am upset. But I'm also…confused. Did no one protect her? I thought that by making her your personal bid, we would be safeguarding her from harm."

There was a bitter edge to Kya's voice as the younger mother sniffed once, wiping her tears on her sleeve staining the pale fabric, her voice was rough with her sorrow as her throat burned.

Princess Ursa shook her head. "Unfortunately, all that did was paint a larger target on her back. My husband's mistress was trying to kill Iroh, and Katara, unfortunately kept getting in the way of that."

For a moment, Kya chuckled. "That sounds like my daughter. Wanting to take care of others—for good or ill to her own health."

Ursa nodded in agreement, a hint of a smile on her lips, but her light-colored eyes were genuine. "For what it's worth, you've raised a strong daughter. She's protected herself— and Zuko at times—and where she couldn't, Zuko has supported her constantly, much to my initial surprise."

"Thank you." Kya murmured softly, though her head still swirled with thoughts about her child, and her own mothering skills. She wouldn't have had the strength to live here, that much was clear. "About Iroh, Ursa, he was a good man, and kind man…I'm sorry he's dead., I know the two of you were close."

"He was a better father to Zuko than—," Ursa looked up, vaguely aware of a young servant standing far away, just out of earshot. "Never mind."

"I tried to see the Fire Lady when I arrived but—,"

"Some things have changed…Lu Ten has decreed him mother to be…unstable in her grief. She's under house arrest and is unable to receive any visitors."

"So I was told."

Ursa looked at her face, pensive and dark, and perhaps could see the guilt and shame hiding behind her eyes. Kya's friend let out a heavy sigh, looking down at her half-eaten breakfast. "I should not have told you about Katara."

But Kya surprisingly shook her head. "No, no you should have. Who else would I have heard this horrific story from, if not you? Certainly not from Katara."

Ursa looked taken aback. "She told you nothing?"

Kya swallowed again, forcing the words out that seemed to be stuck on her tongue "The last thing she wrote was from the day that Princess Song and Prince Lu Ten were engaged. She told me nothing else—though, she wasn't in a well enough place after that, after your husband put her in a dungeon and tortured her."

Her voice had started out low, but the more she spoke the less unsure Kya's voice became as anger took its place. Her other hand came up to cover Ursa's as the leader of the Water Tribe stared at her friend. There was sympathy in Ursa's golden eyes as angry tears welled in Kya's own.

"Anything happening between the two of them was all that we ever wanted." She swallowed again, the words all coming out in a rush. "Only now I question if it was ever worth it? The things you've told me...I'm an awful mother."

"You're not." Ursa said vehemently, as she spoke with solemnity and determination, though her expression held some cheer and optimism. "Yes, Katara was arrested and threatened through no fault of her own, mostly by my husband's mistress—but she has come out stronger and wiser for it. I think if you ask her, she'd honestly say that it was worth it."

What am I going to tell Hakoda? Pakku? Sokka? I have to tell them something, I must think of what.

The hot, angry tears flowed from her watery eyes now, and her hands came up to wipe them away as the guilt wracked her body., the shaking intensified. How could she have submitted her child—her blood and her flesh, her sweat and her tears to a system and a country cruel enough to kill their own kin and ruler?

Ursa continued speaking, the words coming out in a motherly rush. "You should see Zuko then, if you don't believe me, Kya. The way his face lights up when she enters the room and dims when she exits...as though she brought the sun when she arrives and takes it with her when she leaves…The way they seem to gravitate towards each other…often without knowing it, revolving, rotating. She provides a... strength to him, I think, one that he couldn't get from his Uncle, his cousin, his father, or me."

The hopeful sincerity on Ursa's face was almost enough to make Kya believe the Fire Princess. She couldn't be lying, couldn't have fabricated the pure emotion radiating from her smile as she described her son's happiness. But still...

"And how does Katara feel about him?" She asked with a hint of skepticism.

Ursa leaned back, acknowledging the silent wager between them. "Perhaps you should ask her that question?"

"I suppose I will." Kya said forcefully, determined. She would judge her child's happiness with her own eyes and heart. "Though if you value your husband's life, Ursa," She added, only half serious "You'd best keep him away from me."

Ursa nodded, the barest hint of a smile on her face.

"And as for his mistress—,"

"Tiang has been dealt with." Ursa said plainly, not meeting Kya's eyes.

Kya nodded. "I believe that she's dead, yes. You wouldn't look so elated otherwise." Ursa cracked a smile. "But…I find it hard to believe that a woman as vain as her would commit suicide."

Ursa blinked rapidly at her, and her fingers twitched in Kya's grasp. Is there something that she's not telling me? Kya let her go, a hand running over her forehead in desperation and frustration. Her head hurt.

"Shame she killed herself," Ursa half-murmured under her breath. "Desperate measures, I suppose."

"So you've said." Kya murmured as Ursa straightened, pouring them both another hot cup of tea.

"There is, one more thing, however." Ursa started, once the tea kettle had been set back down.

"Which is?"

"Yue is here."

They were silent for a few moments as Kya took in what Ursa said. What? "She can't be. I didn't banish her here. I didn't tell her to seek Lu Ten out."

"You didn't?" Ursa raised an eyebrow.

"No. She fled to Kyoshi on a merchant vessel. I didn't even know that she was pregnant until I got a letter from Oyaji on Kyoshi, telling me that a pregnant Water Tribe priestess was tutoring local children in exchange for food and shelter."

"And you knew it was Lu Ten's?"

"Immediately." Kya shook her head in exasperation. "Not one Water Tribe man would be so disrespectful to our culture."

"Lu Ten obviously didn't hold it in the same regard that you do." Ursa sighed softly. "And now she is to be Fire Lady."

"She's going to be what?!"

Lu Ten

Lu Ten stepped out of his parent's bedroom feeling all the more drained. His father wanted Zuko? Instead of him? The thought was hard to believe—and yeah, he'd been a little scatterbrained before, but that had changed. He'd changed. How could his father not see and recognize the change in him?

But Zuko had changed more.

Going form this scared, insignificant little teenager to a young man in his own right, ready to take on a wife, a position of leadership in Lu Ten's court…an advisor…and a…friend. Lu Ten didn't want to think badly of his cousin—he needed him. Zuko was the only one he could trust…was his mother telling the truth. Lu Ten needed someone to act as an intermediary between his two warring wives, because if things continued this way, then nothing, nothing would be as he knew it.

Speaking of wives…

"What are you doing here?" He asked sharply.

Song froze, her dainty footsteps ceasing to echo on the tiled floor. She stared at him, big brown eyes wide with a hesitant curiosity, but still very much stoic, in control of her emotions and her expression. The pink dress she wore belied a strength that he'd seen all too recently.

She gestured to the door Lu Ten was exiting from. "I was on my way to pay my respects to your mother…" She said simply, taking another step forward, though he didn't ask her to come closer. "Is everything alright?" She said, leaning a bit to read his face better.

For a moment he was silent. No, no everything wasn'tall right. But how to do you tell the girl you've promised your life and love that you don't know if you—or anyone—should be together at all? Maybe it would be best to send her back—

"You're marrying me because you love me, right? Not because you feel compelled to in any way?" He asked, striding forward in a rush, and taking her by the shoulders, almost yelling in her face. He could feel her pulse beneath her skin—racing. She tensed in his heavy grip, eyes filled with a genuine (but barely hidden) fear now. Shit. He scared her. Relaxing, he took a step back, though he kept in contact, with the soft cloth of her pretty pink hanbok.

"Of course." She said simply. "I'm here because I want to be, because I think we can rule the Fire Nation well together."

He shook his head. That's not what he meant. "You weren't coerced into coming? Your brother didn't make you?"

For a second, something strange flashed behind her eyes. Something that was too quick for him to decipher, but she covered it with a laugh. "He didn't pick me up and physically drag me to your ship if that's what you're asking." She chuckled lightly, her voice tinkling like a bell.

"Song, I'm serious." His grip tightened again, and her awkward shifting reminded him to relax.

"And so am I." She murmured into his chest.

Her pale arms wrapped around his waist as he encircled her upper body. She was secure; and smelled like flowers and topsoil. He realized her strength, though this girl gave off the appearance that she was as delicate and fragile as a flower at times. Maybe he had underestimated her, like he did everyone and everything else. He breathed in the subtle hint of orange blossom from her hair, liking how it eased his restless anxiety. His heart warmed at the rosy blush that colored her pretty, yet plain face.

"I believe in you." She said, though the words were muffled by his robes, Lu Ten heard it all the same.

Maybe the list of people he could trust wasn't as short as he thought.

Katara

"Mom?" She called softly, the words were barely audible to her own ears, much less her mothers. Katara was almost hesitant to see if the woman sitting with her back facing her was in fact her mother. But the woman's voice, speaking to Ursa in hushed tones no doubt belonged to her mother. "Mom?" She looked up at Zuko. He nodded encouragingly. Katara tried again, a little louder this time. "

The woman turned, the ghost of a smile on her lips at the sound of Katara's voice, and identical blue eyes met.

"Mom!" She exclaimed, and before she knew it, Katara was in her mother's arms with no idea how she'd gotten across the room so fast. But it was her mother's familiar scent that surrounded her, the scent of home, of the fires in the ovens, of the furs that lined their floors and made their beds, of stewed sea prunes that warmed her stomach on frozen nights. It was home

She was home.

"My sweetheart, I've missed you." Her mother murmured into her hair as Katara clutched her mother closer to her body trying to breathe in the scent of her unbound hair, trying to get 3 months' worth of hugs and love all in this one instance. Her mother's voice rasped out playfully, without a hint of seriousness. "But I can't breathe."

She snickered, hesitantly, releasing her mother's frame, though their hands remained clasped together. Immediately, Kya began searching her daughter's face, almost like she was looking for something. Katara too, looked at her mother, who looked a bit weary, weather worn, but healthy.

"Oh, Katara, her mother breathed, as though she hadn't seen her in ages. It felt like that, at least, to her. Her mother's aura radiated over her, her heart lifting, she felt lighter, happier, much like everything that had happened in the past had suddenly gone away, and they were back in her room, talking about the very Hana Matsuri that she had won. "Look at you, my girl. You've changed so much!" Her mother breathed softly, blue eyes wide taking in the sight of her.

I knew she'd say I'd changed.

Katara turned to her left, to stick her tongue out to Zuko in an I told you so move, but he was nowhere to be found. She looked around again, wondering where he was. "Zuko?"

"Zuko what are you doing over there?" Princess Ursa's voice chimed in, and Katara turned to see Zuko standing hesitantly by the doorway to the balcony, almost as though he were afraid to come over. "Come."

He did, slowly, he made his way over to them stopping short before Katara's mother. "Chieftess Kya." He said by way of greeting, bowing slightly.

"It's good to see you, Zuko." Katara's mother said pleasantly, with warmth in her eyes. "Come, sit."

Anxiety flooded Katara's veins—did her mother remember the way she'd run off? How she'd been so hurt, so foolish and silly? The way she'd screamed at him? The dodgy answer they'd given for why she'd come to the Fire Nation in the first place?

Zuko nodded absently, rushing over to sit next to his mother. Ursa smiled at her son, a long arm wrapping around his shoulder as she pulled him close.

"Come, let me look at you." Katara scooted a bit away from her mother, as the woman's eyes went up and down over her frame, appraising her. "Well, you've certainly inherited my genes. You've grown into your shape."

Katara's cheeks reddened, and she didn't dare look at Zuko. "Mom

"She looks just like you when you were 16." Ursa gushed, beaming.

"I'm surprised you remember that far back." Kya murmured.

"Would I forget the day I met my closest friend?" Ursa said, smiling. Zuko too, looked happy at his mother's elation, and the joy of the two women was infectious, spreading to them both. "—And apparently, future relative by marriage."

Their blue eyes met again, her mother's still wary and apprehensive and Katara hurried to speak before her mother could ask too many questions. "Where's Dad? Sokka?"

"Your father received a letter from the North Pole…and Sokka wanted to stay and help him." Her mother said quietly, looking down.

"Is something wrong?"

"No," Her mother said, but she kept looking away. Something is wrong. "But Pakku is here." Kya continued brightly, almost with a smirk.

"He is?"

Kya nodded. "He is, and he hopes that you've been keeping up with your skills."

"I…I've been waterbending, but not—, she trailed off" Not nearly to the level that I was before. Constantly healing both myself and Iroh along with and an afternoon of sparring didn't keep my skills sharp.,

"—Are you happy, Katara?" Her mother asked abruptly, startling Katara.

"I—," She paused, unsure of how much her mother knew. "I'm happy. I…I love Zuko." She couldn't help but look at him as she said it, and his bright smile, eyes glowing back at her filled her with warmth, with light. His mother next to him was also beaming at the pair, a pale hand stretching across the table to grasp Kya's darker one.

"Well—," Her mother began.

"Mom I know what you're going to say—but Prince Zuko isn't the person I thought he was in the beginning, he's kind and smart and I know I sound like I did when I thought I was in love with Hahn, but Zuko is so different, the comparison is really—,"

"Katara." Her mother shushed her, pulling her gently closer. "Come here. Princess Ursa has told me everything."

Everything? Her eyes snapped to meet Zuko's shock evident on both of their faces. Can my mother tell that we—that he—?

"Everything?" She stammered out.

"Yes. She told me about Fire Lord Iroh's poisonings…how you healed him as best you could…how that landed you in trouble with Ozai's mistress…"

So not everything. Not about Jet, or Mai, Azula and Jin…or Yue Ozai's mistress…had Princess Ursa not told my mother that Ozai was behind everything? Why?

They were interrupted by a gentle cough. The young girl that greeted them at the door bowed to the group. "Princess Ursa," She began, looking almost apologetically at her employer, "Prince Ozai wishes to see you."

Zuko and Katara visibly stiffened, her eyes meeting his through thick lashes, she could see Zuko's hands tightening into fists beneath the table, while his mother beside him looked merely resigned—like she knew this was coming.

"Did he say what he needed?" Ursa asked calmly, rising.

The servant stammered. "N-No, my Lady. He only says that he wishes to see you at your earliest convenience."

"Which according to him, means immediately." Zuko sniped quietly, a hint of frustration coloring his otherwise sarcastic tone "You don't have to go."

"Zuko," Ursa admonished, though she got up and started towards the door, bending quickly to please a quick kiss on her son's cheek. "You know I do."

He shifted uncomfortably at the kiss, groaning irritably at the press of his mother's lips, but even he couldn't hide the soft smile that spread against his face. It warmed her heart to see it. Her mother squeezed her hands tightly, there and her bright blue eyes were shining as Ursa wiped Zuko's face clean of her lipstick afterwards.

He huffed as the older woman made her exit, and Katara too felt some sadness as she watched Ursa leave. She looked so happy sitting there with the rest of them, and her anger at the Ozai increased tenfold.

Couldn't anyone be happy in this palace for 5 seconds without that man getting in the way of it?

By the hateful look in Zuko's eyes, she could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"Kya I will speak to you later?" Ursa said, lingering perhaps a second longer than she should. "You can stay here the rest of the day if you'd like."

"Of course." Her mother said kindly, though despite her limited knowledge of what was going on, Kya too looked suspicious.

Ursa said, looking by all accounts that she didn'twant to leave them. "I'm sure Katara would be more than happy to give you a tour."

"I will."

Zuko didn't say anything, merely stared hauntingly at the empty place his mother used to be.

"Zuko?" Ursa called, hesitantly, pausing across the threshold.

"Yes?" He said, absently, delaying looking at her. His lips turned down, eyes blank, emotionless, his dismal expression so covertly pained that it hurt Katara to look at him.

"I love you." Ursa murmured quietly, and there was sincerity—how could she be involved with anything that Ozai was planning? She was too respectable, too generous.

Zuko didn't say anything, he only nodded. Dismally, resigned, with a heavy weight to her shoulders, Ursa left. Katara glared at Zuko, who only shrugged back at her. She frowned at him, realizing she should talk to him about treating his mother like that, but not now. Later, when they were alone. It was better that Katara's mother didn't know the full extent of everything that had been going on.

She needs to be kept in the dark. Knowing too much will only hurt her—like it's hurt me. Like it's hurt Zuko and Lu Ten. Like it's hurt everyone.

Kya cleared her throat awkwardly. And the conversation about their relationship continued, no matter how excited she wanted to be, the happiness and elation from before had all but gone now with Ozai's summons, leaving the sea air with a dry feeling, and a hollow pit in her stomach ever growing each time she looked at her love's face.

He didn't speak much for the rest of the morning.